Avalanche & NHL

Can the Colorado Avalanche's talent step up?

Colorado has 12 1st-round draft picks on its roster

Avalanche defenseman Duncan Siemens, right, puts a hit on Kings left wing Dwight King during the second period Sept. 30, 2016 at Pepsi Center. (John Leyba / The Denver Post)

DENVER — This team has talent. The big question is if it's ready to win now.

Optimism exists because of the 12 new faces on the team from this time a year ago, the high-end young talent and second-year coach Jared Bednar settling in with a hand-picked staff. But understandable skepticism surrounds a team that finished in the NHL cellar last season with a franchise record-low 48 points.

The dozen first-round draft picks on the roster — including three taken No. 1 overall — would seem to offer evidence that Colorado might be putting too much emphasis on a player's worth as a draft-eligible teenager (ages 17-19) and not enough emphasis on his development and what he has become.

"I feel good about the roster," Avalanche left wing and team captain Gabe Landeskog said. "We've talked about it — how young we are and how that should be some energy to our group. Most of all, we're hungry."

Avalanche forwards Nail Yakupov, the No. 1 pick in 2012, and Colin Wilson, chosen No. 7 in 2008, were acquired over the summer and are attempting to resurrect their careers in Colorado. The Avs also have three other lottery forwards in Matt Duchene (No. 3 in 2009), Landeskog (No. 2 in 2011) and Nathan MacKinnon (No. 1 in 2013) out to re-prove themselves after the worst seasons of their careers in 2016-17.

Advertisement

"The draft is just the beginning. Just the starting point," said defenseman Erik Johnson, the No. 1 pick in 2006 by St. Louis. "You have to put a lot of work into it to have it come to fruition. You go right from the top of the mountain, and then you have to kind of go down and start over again, because you're working your way into the league. As many skilled players as we have, you have to somehow make it come together and make it work in a team atmosphere. The skill is definitely there and hopefully it translates into a fun, successful season."

Bednar, who inherited last season's roster but has helped build his second one, said there's both privilege and pressure in working with a young, top-10 draft pick. He has two of them in forwards Mikko Rantanen, 20, and Tyson Jost, 19, who were picked No. 10 overall in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Rantanen led the Avs with 20 goals last season as a rookie and Jost was a freshman at the University of North Dakota.

"If I look at our forward group and see a lot of those first-round picks in it, I know we have some potential," Bednar said. "As a coaching staff, we have to help them reach their potential, and they have an obligation as players to keep working to get better within our team. I think we have a reason to be optimistic.

"I would caution our guys, because there's a lot of work yet to do. You can't rest on where you were drafted. You have to make sure you put in the work and make sure you ... get to where you want to be as a player and a person."

The Avs didn't get anywhere last season. They began 3-1 and were 9-9 before the roof caved it. They won just 13 of their final 64 games. Colorado was a league-worst in goals per game (2.01) and goals allowed (3.37). Bednar's new systems didn't work with the roster he inherited from Patrick Roy, who stunned everyone when he resigned as coach in August.

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story